Sarcouncil Journal of Medical Sciences

Abstract: Both Spexin and ghrelin were defined as metabolic hormones as that play a crucial role in determining maternal pregnancy and delivery outcomes, where both hormones helped regulate energy balance and fat metabolism and impact both fetal growth and bilirubin metabolism in newborns. Due to that, this cross-sectional study evaluated the effect of both maternal Spexin and ghrelin levels on pregnancy on neonates' outcomes, in terms of birth weight and total blood bilirubin levels. Based on the specified methodology, the present study gathered full demographic and clinical information on 105 pregnant women that took part in the study during a 12-month follow-up period between February 2024 and February 2025 at different hospitals in Iraq. An enzyme-linked assay (ELISA) was used to test the absolute concentrations of spexin and ghrelin during the entire path of the pregnancy through all three trimester periods. In addition, neonates' outcomes were recorded based on birth weight and elevated bilirubin. Regarding the clinical outcome of Spexin concentrations during the period of follow-up, the current study recorded a gradual reduction in the levels of maternal Spexin concentrations during gestation, with a cumulative result of about 2.48 ng/mL minus the highest concentration observed during the first trimester. A negative relationship was observed between the declining Spexin levels and high levels of total bilirubin (r ≈ = 0.418; p < 0.05). In regard to ghrelin, the clinical data obtained indicated an increase in ghrelin levels during pregnancy, which had a positive relationship with the levels of bilirubin (r ≈ 0.362; p < 0.05). Also, this study established that Spexin correlates positively with birth weight (= 148.6, p < 0.001) and negatively with bilirubin concentrations, while ghrelin showed a negative correlation with birth weight and positively correlated with bilirubin. According to the study summary, Spexin and ghrelin are different gestational effects that influence the neonatal outcomes, with high levels of Spexin related to high weight gain and low bilirubin levels, while high ghrelin levels are linked to high bilirubin levels and low birth weight.